<p>i don't know if this has been asked before, but i was wondering if any current stanford students can weigh in on the trimester system. stanford admin says that it's great because it allows students to take more classes, but i was wondering if the shortened terms (A) forced students to cram a lot of work on their own, or (B) meant that students learned less in each class than they would in a semester system because professors don't have time to go into as much depth. how do you guys feel about this once you get to stanford?</p>
<p>i'm not a stanford student (decision pending - i got deferred) but i have a lot of friends who go to Stanford (I live in Palo Alto). A lot of them say that the quarter system (not really trimester, but works either way) does indeed allow you to take more classes, so you get to explore a lot more, but yes, you do a semesters' worth of work in one quarter, which is 10 weeks. You don't necessarily learn LESS than students on semester systems because Stanford crams about the same amount of work in a shorter period of time. Maybe some students will learn less because they don't have quite as much time to absorb the information, but if these guys were smart and diligent enough to get into stanford in the first place, it shouldn't be a problem. so yes, I guess the answer is A - cram more work in.</p>